February 28, 2015

Last week, students from Windham
Middle School and Windham High School attended the District II Honors band and
orchestra where they played with students from 37 different schools after only
practicing for one day as a group. The follow students were recommended to
audition and made it into the groups:

In the middle school orchestra was Madelynn
McGary. In the high school orchestra were Kaleb Eddy and Lydia March. In the
middle school band were Sam Preston, Dean Preston, Vireak Tray, Daniel Kaschub
and Tim Riley. In the high school band were Maddy Shimko, Adam Poitras, Jasmin
Eddy, Cora Dykens and Kris Dow.

Instructors are Morgan Riley for the middle school band, Betty McIntyre for the
high school band and Hannah Flewelling for the high school and middle school
orchestra.

Soon the Windham Fire – Rescue Department will be putting
a new to them 2012 Ford ¾ ton truck into service. The truck that is being
lettered and striped, will go on the road as soon as possible.

Last June, Kaile Warren and his longtime partner Donna
Leith approached Chief Charlie Hammond about donating money to pay for a
service truck for the Fire-Police division of the department to carry the
cones, road barricades and other necessary equipment to block off roads.

Historically the Fire-Police have always carried the
barricades and cones in their own vehicles and trucks.

“Fire-Police are responsible for Traffic Control at
emergency scenes. They are available to both the Police and Fire Departments.
Up until now they had to respond with and carry their assigned equipment in
their own vehicles. They often have had to leave their own vehicle running on
scene for hours to provide warning lights and temperature control,” said Chief
Brent Libby.

According to Warren, the purchase of a new van for this
purpose was going in the municipal budget for next year.

“It was inconvenient and lacked efficiency,” he added. “I
looked at how I could make a donation that would make the town more efficient
and safer.”

Soon after Warren offered the $20,000 donation, Toby
Pennels was in the accident that eventually took his life.

Warren said he had offered the money “long before I ever
thought about jumping into the State Senate race at the very last minute. I had
asked Chief Hammond to keep this under wraps during the campaign, because I did
not want the wrong impression, and he did.”

Warren considers this a different type of donation, and
said that most people consider donations of land or to non-profits. He
recommended purchasing a used truck to save the town money. The truck that was
purchased has 25,000 miles and was bought at Yankee Ford.

“I think it is important for people to consider what
their towns need when thinking about gifting. This gift saves Windham Taxpayers
$20,000 and it improves the overall efficiency of the fire and rescue
operations. One of the most important factors in an emergency is securing the
site to protect workers and the public in general. Getting traffic under
control is an important process, one that will now be done more easily,” Warren
said.

“While they will still need to use their own vehicles for
some of the response’s this vehicle will be able to handle many of the calls as
well as carry the needed equipment to properly close a road and set up detours,”
Libby concluded. “We are so appreciative for the donation!”

February 8, 2015

Maintaining
the transportation infrastructure for such a large and rural state like Maine
is a challenge. The needs of travelling Mainers and visitors are directly
reliant on the quality and upkeep of our roads, rail, air and ferry services.
Recently, the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) unveiled its 3-year
Work Plan for major construction projects for all transportation modes; smaller
construction and maintenance projects; plowing and summer road maintenance;
bus, rail and ferry operations; sidewalks, trails and more. All-in-all, the
plan totals over $2 billion in direct investment in Maine’s infrastructure and
economy.

While
the amount is significant, it is greatly needed. Just to give you an idea of
the scope of the operational costs involved at MDOT, approximately $1 million
is spent for each average snow storm in the state. Severe storms such as
freezing rain and ice usually cost even more, due to the increased need for
road maintenance. Whether they are plowing, sanding, or otherwise improving
highway safety, MDOT crews do their best to keep all of us safe when there are
dangerous road conditions.

This
direct investment in our roads and infrastructure will also boost our state’s
economy in many ways through solid and good-paying jobs within the construction
industry and the positive effect on local businesses connected by their
presence.

As
a member of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee, I am pleased to report
that the municipalities in our Senate District are scheduled for multiple
construction, maintenance, and paving projects resulting in millions of dollars
of needed highway and local road improvements. Additional projects include
bridge repairs, bike and pedestrian upgrades, new traffic signals and
increasing drainage capacity. In fact, the MDOT 2015-2017 Work Plan total for
our district is $10,465,639. These investments will vastly improve our
infrastructure, as well as increase the safety of our roadways.

I
am hopeful we will also be able to provide funding for additional projects as
the need arises. I will be holding public forums focused on further discussion
of the infrastructure needs throughout the district. Please stay tuned for
updates on when and where these gatherings will be held. It is very important
to hear directly from those whose travel daily on our roads and bridges.

While
we still have a few more months of winter before we can start seeing these
projects in action, the complete Work Plan details can be viewed at www.maine.gov/mdot. The website also offers an
interactive feature which allows a search for projects by municipality. Please
feel free to contact me at diamondholly@aol.comor (207)
287-1515 with any feedback or concerns that you may have.

February 2, 2015

The Raymond Republican Party came
together at the town broadcast studio on January 21st to celebrate recent
successes and look to build on those successes in 2015. Meeting participants
arrived to discuss what worked in the recent election and current events. The
local party also learned how the state and county republican committees are
already hard at work to stay ahead of the voting cycle. In local elections a
slate of Raymond candidates was approved to serve in 2015. This group includes:
Chair: Marshall Bullock; Vice Chair: Joe Bruno; Secretary: Greg Foster; Treasurer:
Mike McClellan.

Next the party considered
representatives to the county committee. Marshall Bullock, as Raymond
Republican chair is automatically a voting Cumberland County committee member.
Greg Foster and Karen Lockwood each were voted to also represent Raymond.
Raymond State Representatives Mike McClellan (Maine House 66) and Susan Austin
(Maine House 67) get county votes given their state elected roles.

Republicans uphold public service as
both an honor and privilege. We believe in limited government and understand
that citizens should not be subject to unreasonable taxes. They expect their
elected individuals to display professionalism and accountability for all
boards, commissions, and committees.

The Raymond Republican Party welcomes
your involvement. To learn more about our principals, our efforts or to get
communications from the party, contact Raymond Republican Party at Raymondrepublicans@gmail.com.